Indicator attachment for taxi meters



March 12, 1935. P. R. BRAUN INDICATOR ATTACHMENT FOR TAXI METERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 26, 1964 Inventor .1 Era (4/? flllomey March 12, 1935. BRAUN 1,993,827

INDICATOR ATTACHMENT FOR TAXI METERS Filed Feb. 26, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Inventor Patented Mar. 12, 1935 UNI STATES PAT ENT time INDICATOR. ATTACHMENT FOR TAXI,

METERS 1 [Paul Richard Braun, Brooklyn, N. Y I Application February 26, 1934, Serial No, 713,041

' aoiaims'g (01. 116-129) This invention relates to fare registering taxi of the casing are flanges or attaching ears 12 meters of the type used" on'cabs o-r'other vehicles which are apertured to'acconunodate screws or for hire. 7 I 7 other fastening elements 13 for securing the eas- The object of the invention is to provide a ing on the box or casing 7 of the taxi meter.

"5 simple and practical indicator for ready appli- Fitting within the casing and-serving some- 5i cation-to taxi'ineters now in use, and especially what as a back walltherefor is a dial 14' that for applicationt'o that typeof meter which inis in the nature of a cloek facehaving on the volvesthe subject matter of PatentNo; 1,762,862 side thereof viewable through the window 11 a granted to Julius Gluck'under date of 'JunelO, scale graduated in terms of hours as shown.

1'0 1930. I a i i I Movable over the face of the dial 14 is a pointer, 1'0

Briefly the invention consists in the provision index or hand 15 and this hand is mounted on of anattachment inthe form of aclock inc1ud-- one end of a shaft 16 that extends through an ing a dial or clock face over which is movable a opening suitably provided therefor cent-rally of hand or pointer togetherwith means for bringthe dial 14, anopening provided in the side wall 155 ing the hand or pointer in driving engagement of the taxi meter casing 7 nearest to the driver 135i withthe main: shaft of the taxi meter so that by and terminating inwardly of --the'casing or housglancing at the indicator one will be able to deing '7 as clearly shown in Figure 2. To accommotermine whether or not the taxi meter is in date the inner end of the shaft 16 the adjacent proper working order. end of the main shaft 6 of the taxi meter is pro- 20 The invention also has as an object thereof to vided with an axial socket and this socket may be 20 provide an auxiliary indicator of the character square or non-circular in cross section while the above mentioned which will serve as the means end of the shaft 16 fitting in the socket may be whereby the driver of the taxi will be able to' of a corresponding cross section so as to provide a tell at a glance whether his meter is in working driving en a e of the Shaft 16 W th condition or not. main shaft to drive the pointer 15 in synchronism 25 Another object is to provide a device of the with the main shaft 6 of the taxi meter. class stated which will be efficient in service inso- Fr m t e abov t w be appa t that w n far as it will form a check for the driver so that the meter 5 iS and is in p p Working j he will be able to tell whether he is running on a order the shaft 6 will drive the shaft 16 for movtime or a mileage basis. ing the pointer 15 in the path of the circle over 30 The invention together with its objects and the face of the dial 14. Under such conditions advantages will be best understood from a study the taxi driver, by glancing at the attachment of the following description taken in connection Will know that he is working on a mileage basis.

with the accompanying drawings wherein: If for any reason the main drive shaft through Figure 1 a side elevational view of a taxi some inadvertence should break or is not operat- 35 meter having the attachment applied thereto; ing properly there will of course be no transmis- F'igure 2 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional sion of drive to the pointer 15 and under such view with certain parts broken away and more conditions, when the driver glances at the auxclearly illustrating the application of the inven iliary indicator he is apprised of the condition 40 tion. a of the meter and may then inform his passenger 40 Referring more in detail to the drawings it will that he is now charging on a time basis. be seen that 5 indicates generally a taxi meter The utility and advantage of an invention of of a well known construction. Only such parts this character will be fully appreciated when of the taxi meter will be specifically referred to consideration is given to the inconvenience 'as is deemed necessary for a thorough undercaused to the users of taxi meters in that the 45 standing of the invention. Thus, the main shaft taxi meters often go out of order during the runof the taxi meter is indicated by the reference ning of same and the driver has great dificulnumeral 6 while the casing of the taxi meter is ty in arriving at the'proper charge he should indicated generally by the reference numeral 7, make to his passengers often resulting in fricand the flag by the reference numeral 8. tion between the passenger and the owner of the 50 The attachment is indicated by the reference. taxi. As is apparent this invention is designed to numeral 9 and in the present instance consists eliminate as far as possible such friction, and to of a circular casing 10 that is provided on its assist the general public and taxi owners to front side with a sight window 11. Extending work together in unison, by providing a simfrom diametrically opposite sides of the periphery ple and efiicient indicator which when attached 55 v to a meter in the manner hereinbefore fully described will show at a glance whether the meter is in working condition so that the driver may at once arrange to carry his passenger on a time basis until the meter is repaired.

Another advantage gained 1 in providing an auxiliary indicator of the character of this invention is that the same may be used as a testing device for the meter. Familiarity and continual use of the instrument will allow the driver and tester to judge whether the meter is recording correctly or not. This advantage is particularly useful where the hand is driven directly from the main drive shaft as illustrated herein, asit will notify the driver or tester that some part of the charge recording mechanism is out of order and requires adjustment. Also, when the taxi is at a standstill with the flag 8 down, the auxiliary indicator will show if the clock is working properly on waiting time. When the flag is put up the indicator is set in operation to automatically return the hand or index 15 to a position readable against the numeral 12 on the face of the dial.

In this connection it will be understood that if, for example, the meter is set to drop each one quarter mile, the indicator would be set that the handle pointer of the indicator will move into an indicating position with respect to the numeral 2 on the dial of the indicator at the first drop, then to the numeral 4 of the dial at the second drop and so on around the base of the dial. Therefore if the meter is registering too fast the drop will occur before the indicator 15 moves into proper registering position with respect to the numeral 2 on the base of the dial, or the numeral 4, or 6, etc., as the case may be. On

the other hand if the meter is registering too slow, the drop will occur after the indicator has passed the numerals 2, 4, 6 or 8, etc., as the case may be. As will be understood, in case the meter is changed to run on different mileage say for example one-third or one-half mile, the numerals on the dial will be changed accordingly.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is: v I

1. The combination with a taxi meter having a casing and a main shaft, of an indicator ineluding a casing mounted on the casing of the taxi meter, a dial having a. clock face mounted Within the casing of the indicator, an index movable over the face of the dial, a shaft on which the index is mounted extending inwardly from the indicator easing into the casing of the taxi meter, and the main shaft of said taxi meter having a socket in one end thereof receiving the inner end of the indicator shaft in a manner to provide a drive connection between the main shaft of thetaxi meter-and the indicator shaft for operating the index mechanism with the mainshaft of the taxi meter. 7

2.. The combination with a taxi-meter including a main indicator and-means for driving the same, of an indicator for indicating the operative orinoperative condition of the taxi-meter and including a casing mounted externally of the taxi-meter, a dial in said casing having a scale thereon graduated in terms of hours, and an index movable over the face of the dial; and motion transmitting means operatively connecting the index with the said driving means for. the main indicator.

PAUL RICHARD BRAUN. 

